The Christian Community is in its prophesied, End Time, apostate, sad, state of affairs.
"But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying
attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons (1Timothy 4: 1 NASB)." The extent
that apostasy now permeates the Christian Community would be cause for alarm and consternation if had not be clearly foretold in Scripture.
The challenge is not to lose heart (Matthew 24: 12) by all that is taking place in the spiritual realm, but rather to acknowledge that End Time prophecies are unfolding before our eyes, providing believers with the opportunity to place more and more confidence in all that God has revealed to us in Scripture.
While the global, prophesied, condition of the Church should not have come to an edified believer's surprise, I never thought that I would have lived to see the day that the United States of America could be accurately defined as being in its "post" Christian Era. There are stages of divine discipline to which a nation can be subjected, with the final one being its removal from the world community. The USA would NOT be the first nation or empire to have considered itself invincible, only to learn just how vulnerable we ALL can be.
Certainly, if past empires with unmatched military might of their day and the strictest of civilian control could be upended, how much more vulnerable is a government that promotes individual freedoms to the extent that it invites the divine response of national discipline from God.
Although there have been times in our national and global history that the end of the world may have had the suggestive appearance of doom and gloom, the essential difference between America's domestic and foreign adversaries of the past and her adversaries of the END TIMES is that America and the world has never faced the reality of the world, as we know it to be today, coming to its prophecie end, no matter what course of action she takes.
For all its negative choices, to its credit, the United States continues to fulfill its divinely appointed purposes (Acts 17:26) regarding the fulfillment of the Great Commission given to the Church at large, and to play its part in keeping the lid on the volatile situation in the Middle East until the appointed time when End Time prophecy will be fulfilled.
Our nation has only begun to reap the consequences of the seeds that it has sown concerning its own social decline.
However, the discipline that America has and will experience as a result of denying its Christian heritage, must be distinguished from the adversity that she has and will incur for having done and doing the right things as the END TIMES unfold. As Peter put it (1Peter 3: 17), if we are destined to suffer, let it be for the right reasons.
A national disinterest in policing the world has been brewing for a long time. There has been a much greater impact by domestic and foreign terrorist than what we care to concede. The potential for such attacks will not cease as long as America remains to be an obstacle to the agenda of the 8th beast.
I believe that something on a major scale is soon to take place that will result in America's unwillingness or incapability to maintain its role as the key obstacle to the forces of evil's plan and desire to permanently destroy the nation of Israel.
What most folks fail to identify, is that no one has more to gain by having the prophesied END TIME events fail to materialize than the devil himself. While Israel's present day enemies may cite such things as ancient land disputes, the religious disputes behind the scenes go much deeper than that.
While the promotion of all false religion has always been a part of Satan's agenda, his influence behind the scenes in the Middle East is his last ditch attempt to salvage his world (Luke 4;6) before all is lost, beginning with the Second Advent in which the nation of Israel plays a key role.
Islamic people do not see Mohammad as the false prophet of Scripture, nor do they see themselves as being the 8th "beast" of Scripture. From their perspective, the God of the Bible is the false God and all Christians are infidels for not having faith in Allah. In the minds of the Islamic people, all infidels deserve all that they receive for having made that choice, be it at the hands of terrorist or conventional warfare.
Many times, those who are labeled terrorists vs. commandos, patriots vs. rbels is determined by who wins the conflict.
The devil will use anyone or any cause he can who desires to oppose the Jews and the Christians for whatever reason they choose. No one knows the role that the Church and the nation of Israel are called to play in the fulfillment of END TIME prophecy better than the devil himself, and no one ha more to gain by anti-Christian and ant-Jewish policies and actions.
Just as the plan to destroy the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross was what enabled our Lord to fulfill His earthly mission, the attempts to thwart the manifestation of END TIME events through the attacks on Israel will be what triggers the Second Advent!
The last thing that either the Sanhedrin or the Roman Government had in mind when they crucified the Lord Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the very reason that He had come to Earth. The last thing that the major players on BOTH sides of the conflicts associated with the END TIME events have in mind is how they, too, will be the ones who wll unwittingly bring about the Second Advent!
Politics and religion played a major role when the appointed time for the First Advent and the time for the Crucifixion arrived. Politics and religion are playing a large role in what is bringng about the fulfillment of END TIME prophecies.
It is only a matter of time before the final stages of the END TIME prophecies are fulfilled. The return of the Lord Jesus Christ will be being triggered by an all out attack on the nation of Israel that will be an escalation of what more than likely starts out in appearance as being yet one more exchange of military hardware between Israel and its surrounding national neighbors.
It will be as a remnant of fleeing Jews make run for cover in a passage way that is provided by divine intervention that this conflict is brought to its end with the simultaneous manifestation of the Second Advent. This event, however soon it may be, comes AFTER the Rapture.
The 8th beast of Revelation is NOT a specific nation, but IS the driving unseen force behind all that is taking place in the Middle East and within the lands of the nations that have influence in all that takes place there on a daily basis. The ultimate objective of the 8th beast is world domination for the glory of Allah. The destruction and elimination of Israel from their own backyard of the Middle East is only the beginning of the Islamic goal of world domination. The present day Jihad is NOT the first Islamic Holy War, but according to END TIME Biblical prophecy, it will be its last.
In the capacity of the 7th Beast, its Jihad captured much land in the Middle East, Africa, and parts of Europe, but was stopped in its tracks in what is now modern day France.
As foretold in END TIME prophecy, the 8th beast is a revival of what was the 7th Beast. The 8th beast is NOT as single country, but consists of a group of nations that oppose each other on several issues, but are united when it comes to their shared belief in a world that glorifies Allah uder a Muslim/Islamic umbrella.
The false prophet of Revelation is none other than Mohammad. Prior to Mohammad's claim of revelation, Allah was one of several gods that evolved from ancient religions that came into being during the third and later generations that came after Noah. Modern day Islamic beliefs, as of the time of Mohammad, now acknowledge Allah and the one primary God.
The "abomination that makes desolate" spoken of in Daniel and Revelation is the mosque that WAS the erected in Jerusalem on the site where the ancient Temple of God formerly stood. This took place at the time of Mohammad in 7th century AD.
It is the blasphemous inscriptions that deny both the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit on its walls that qualifies it as an abomination, and its location is what makes the area desolate, unacceptable for the worship of God. The leaders are Anti-Christ, but the Anti-Christ of Revelation is not a single individual, but refers to several individuals who are the driving force behind the 8th beast.
Again, the false prophet of the 8th beast of Revelation was Mohammad. The false prophet is NOT a future person to come, and the abomination that make desolate are NOT future things to be constructed, as many well-intended, but inaccurate interpretations of END TIME prophecy contend.
The 8th beast is anti-Christ in both its religious and political agenda. The world wide promotion and glory of Allah is what "justifies" the destruction and death of all "infidels" in the eyes of Muslims who hold to Islamic beliefs.
It is this END TIME prophecy that makes ALL Christians, as well as orthodox Jews the spiritual rivals of Islam. The Orthodox Jews believe in the OLD TESTAMENT prophecies of a Messiah to come. Christians believe that the Messiah is the Lord Jesus Christ who came at the First Advent and will RETURN at the Second Advent.
Both Christian and Jews acknowledge the Biblical cursing/blessing principle of (Gen. 12: 3). Nations, such as the USA, have been blessed for having blessed the Jews, and nations and empires have been cursed for cursing the Jews. Rather or not future foreign policy of the USA will turn its back on Israel remains to be seen, as well as what the curse may bring to America if that it the case.
Neither the Christian nor the Orthodox Jewish belief has a place in the ultimate Islamic agenda o world domination. The USA paid dearly for taking its stand against Communism, and will continue to pay a dear price, both domestically and abroad as long it takes a stand against the agenda of the 8th Beast.
It will be of the plan of God that will actually bring about the Second Advent and the inevitable end of the devil and his forces of evil. The national, social, religious, and political agenda of the 8th beast of Scripture is the driving force behind the human agents and international events of our times.
Selected people and groups within the United States have chosen to use their liberty and finances to be the base of operations for many ministries that are involved with the fulfillment of the Great Commission. The fulfillment of the Great Commission is one of the global events to take place as the Church Age, that immediately precedes the Second Advent, comes to its end.
The stage for the End Times was set in 1948 when Israel was re-established as a sovereign nation for the first time since its removal (as a nation) from the global community in 70 AD. The icing on the cake took place when in 1967, Jerusalem was fully returned to Jewish domain, signaling that the, "...times of the Gentiles (Luke 21: 24)", had come to its prophesied end and that the End Times events are about to take place.
American foreign policy as it relates to the Middle East, placed the USA in its divinely decreed role in the unfolding of End Time prophecy.
The presence and what is perceived to be as an intrusion into Middle East affairs is what targets the USA and its interests for terrorist attacks. Israel has been the long term religious, social, and political enemy of the 8th beast of Scripture, and so are any nations that take the Israeli side of the issues in the Middle East.
The dilemma is that an American abandonment, by choice or circumstances, may very well be the trigger that brings the END TIMES fulfillment to its fulfillment. This may prove to be what God had in mind all along, but not until the appointed time. If this proves to be the case, then the leadership of the USA may unwittingly be the means for the END TIME events to manifest themselves.
At the same time, if the USA's abandonment of Israeli is what God allows, but not what God desired of the USA, then the USA is likely to find itself among the never-ending list of nations that have experienced the negative consequences of the blessing/curse principle of (Gen. 12:3).
The END TIME prophecies are going to go down just as God directs; with or without the involvement of the USA.
Having the correct understanding of End Time prophecy does NOT increase the integrity
of one's salvation, nor does a deficient understanding of such things diminish the integrity
of one's salvation (John 3:18). An understanding of such things will go a long way in realizing where we are in God's time line of events and ALL that He sends or allow to take place in the day and age in which we live.
Rather or not any one of us here today will still be on Earth or will have already departed this Earth via natural death is known to God alone. All we do know for sure is that one way or another, our time is coming, be it via physical death or the Rapture, and that we would want to be found going about the day to day quest of glorifying God when it arrives.
In the meantime, the mission of the true Church, as was revealed in the Great Commission remains in place and is what should be foremost in the minds of an advancing disciple.
Not only the Rapture, but a host of possibilities could cause the end of our personal presence here on Earth to manifest itself TODAY! Age, health, wealth, activity, and genetics are not always the primary cause for an earthly departure. Many persons will depart this world before the next sunrise or sunset whose death will come as a surprise to that person and to many that he/she leaves behind.
The moral decline of the American society is without a doubt a part of Satan's plan to eliminate or to weaken America's position in the Middle East. Satan has accomplished much when it comes to the removal of Christian principles from the American society, and has used a perverted twist of the US Constitution to do it.
To say that the present day America is what the founding fathers envisioned when they penned the Constitution is ludicrous. America has degenerated to a godless entity that calls good evil and evil good.
The "Christian Community" by and large is totally oblivious to what is taking place all around it each day, but maintains Man made traditions begins in infancy and ends with post mortem activity that have got NOTHING to do with where the soul of the departed individual has ALREADY gone.
Religious organizations within it continue to "recruit" new members through all kinds of human
tactics ranging from familial, cultural, and social pressure to promises of prosperity in exchange for their "investment". Once hooked, the "Christian Community" attempts to retain its membership by promoting the fear of Hell, when in fact the blasphemous concept of a believer going to Hell, or what the Bible calls Hades and then the Lake of Fire, ended the moment the soul was (past tense) saved (Romans 8:1).
It is unbelievers who have every reason to fear Hades and the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20: 15). It should come as no surprise that the unjustified and blasphemous fear of Hell and the false "religious" solutions to insure against it come from the same diabolical hand.
At the same time, although salvation cannot be lost, this does not mean that there is no discipline (Hebrews 12:6) awaiting the believer during his time here on earth for post salvation sin. Divine discipline can range in anything from living with a guilty conscience, up to and including physical death (Acts 5).
It takes a degree of spiritual discernment to understand when one is being disciplined for involvement in the wrong thing(s), and when one is being subjected to adversity for having done or doing the right thing.
As it was foretold in Scripture (1Timothy 4:1), the true Gospel for salvation and the teaching of accurate Bible Doctrine for post salvation discipleship is becoming a hard find in the day and Age in which we live.
Sad to say, but this apostate status of the Christian Community is "just fine" for many
who continue to "attend" religious gatherings and engage in religious activity. This is because they are not really interested in facing the challenges that true discipleship would otherwise bring to them. It is certainly much easier to be religious for an hour or so once or twice a week in the company of like-minded individuals, than it is to be spiritual 24 - 7, no matter where we are or what we are doing while out in the devil's world.
True Christianity involves 168 hours a week! Yes, even in our sleep, our minds process all
the information, good and bad, that our subconscious minds were exposed to during the
preceding hours of consciousness. It really DOES matter what we choose to listen to or focus on during the conscious hours of each day. We do not always have a choice over what our eyes see or what our ears hear, but we DO have a choice rather or not we are going to allow such things to become a part of our own soul structure.
Advancing disciples, being what the true (1Cor. 3: 16) "Church" consist of, do not need the pulpits to tell them "right from "wrong". Even secular authorities concur that the ability to make the distinction from what is morally right and what is wrong is a basic part of determining one's mental status and legal standing in a Court of Law.
Concerning spiritual matters, once the mind of Christ (1Cor. 2: 16) has been ignored or rejected, human viewpoint can justify or excuse just about anything it chooses.
Much of the teaching and preaching coming from the pulpits of our day is dominated by the false concept for the need for religious rituals and moral behavior to be practiced via human desire and ability in order to please God and reap divine blessings, now and when we leave this world.
This sounds good, but it sets the stage for frustration and failure, as it requires of Man a standard of performance and a power source that is humanly impossible to achieve or possess. The hidden flaw in this religious/moral alternative to spirituality is that no amount of religion, morality, and/or humanitarian deeds have ever generated as much as a millisecond of the eternal life that is necessary to live with God during and after departing this world.
Granted, a relatively moral lifestyle will be the result of genuine spirituality, but never the means to obtain or retain salvation.
Salvation is a non-revocable gift from God that is based on a one-time decision to believe in the Person (Who He is) and the Work (all that He accomplished on the cross) in our place. Even if we were to be put on a cross and physically go through all that He did physically, we could not save ourselves, as fallen Man could never qualify as the sinless Lamb of God. This where true Christianity differs from ALL of the false religions of the world (Psalms 96). False religions include false "Christian" doctrines that teach that one must do (or have something done) through religious activity and/or human good to either obtain or retain salvation.
What unbelievers need to hear is the true Gospel Message. I emphasize the "true" adjective is the preceding sentence. From the very beginning, there have been a host of false Gospels that either add to or diminish the integrity and the permanency of what believing (John 3: 18) in the true Gospel accomplishes.
The true Gospel is what provides unbelievers with the opportunity to the saved. Once saved, believers then need to hear Church Age and End Time Doctrine in order to identify, execute, and understand the environment of the true post salvation spiritual life in the times that we are presently living. Success or failure in one's post salvation spiritual life determine the degree in which a believer glorifies (or fails to glorify) God while here on Earth, and will impact the reward (1Cor. 3: 12-15) he she receives in Heaven. Success or failure in the identification and execution of the true post salvation spiritual life will neither improve nor diminish the integrity of one's salvation, but the more spiritually mature a believer becomes, the more he literally desires to live for God and the things of God.
--- Pastor Doug Laird
=====================================================================
Our part.....
Pastor Doug - 20012
Biblical Answers To Man's Questions is a non-denominational,
Christian, Internet, ministry. It's MISSION is to promote the proclamation
of the true Gospel Message for SALVATION, and the teaching of accurate
Bible Doctrine for the development of discipleship. This was primary the
mission and marching orders (Matthew 28: 19. 20) given to the Church by
our Lord just before His ascension and after announcing His promised return.
Salvation is the result of a ONE time decision to BELIEVE in the Person (Who HE is) and the Works of
the Lord Jesus Christ. No one can ever be any more or less saved than what he/she became at the moment of salvation, no matter what else takes place or fails to take place throughout one's post (after) salvation spiritual life.
Discipleship, however, is a horse of a different color. Discipleship is an ongoing and never ending process in which one learns, refines, and applies Bible Doctrine to the details of his/her personal life.
The quantity and the quality of the doctrine we have determines our usefulness in the hands of either God or the devil. through Discipleship starts with one self and later is designed to edify others through communicating it and/or by supporting those who do. No believer can edify anyone else beyond the level of spiritual growth that he has first obtained and maintained for him/herself. The day one stops progressing, is the same day that one starts regressing in the life that God has called every believer to for His glory.
Let me confirm up front something that you may have already discovered, and that is that God, in His wisdom, and by divine design in order to generate faith, has chosen to withhold some of the details of the answers to certain questions that one may want to have the answers to while here on Earth.
Such details are referred to as the Deut. 29: 29 "secret things" of God. At the same time, everything that
Man needs (not wants) to know, in order to he saved and to execute the true post salvation spiritual life has
been made available in Scripture. Most Christians have too many "other" things to do that consumes the
time required toenter into or to main in post salvation discipleship.
The ONE and ONLY quick and complete answer to a spiritual issue pertains to salvation. The Gospel Message
is encapsulated in such passages as John 3: 16, 18. At the moment of salvation, God the Holy Spirit makes a
presentation of the TRUE Gospel Messge understandable to the recipient, providing him/her with the
opportunity to be born again (John 3:3) and receive such things as a regenerated (Titus 3:5) human spirit.
A knowledge of more specific details will set the born again believer free (John 8:32) from ANY doubt concerning the
integrity of his/her salvation. Failure to learn of these more specific details will not diminish one's salvation, but
will enable the devil to generate fear, doubts, and insecurity that will impede one's post salvation spiritual growth.
Other than salvation, the accuracy of ALL other answers to spiritual questions involve a never-ending, post
salvation, life of discipleship. Discipleship reiterates and refines infomation previously obtained, expels
information that later is found to be either false or inadewaute, as well as taking in new information that has
been waiting for us to discover. This information is not NEW to God, but has been there all along in His Word.
Just because "an" answer, based on (#1) an isagogic (historical) background, (#2) an exegetical examination
of the languages, and (#3) a conformation based on comparing Scripture with Scripture, means that one has arrived
at "the" Biblical Answer to the question(s) at hand. The more extensive a research is conducted, based on isagogics,
comparison, and exegesis, the more accurate a "Biblically-based" answer will be.
In the process, what initially appeared to have been a Biblically-based answer is dinmissed as a more accurate
answer is uncovered. Most false doctrines (but not all) are offered with the best of intentions. The only way one
can be assured that the doctrine(s) that he/she currently entertains is correct is to continue in the Word (John 8:32)
and have the humility and courage it takes to be corrected and advance along the path to spiritual maturity.
The day one decides that he/she has already learned all that he/she can or wants to learn, is the day that he/she
will go no further in the plan of God. It is also the day the devil will go work trying to raise doubts and fears as to
the truth and integrity of what one has already received.
False doctrine and religous alternatives, designed by Man and promoted by the devil,can appear to have come
from God. Our fallen nature is, bu nature, not only receptive to such lies, but is hostile (Romans 8:7) to the truth.
does not mean that it is the correct answer to whatever issuewe desire to have answered. Trust me, false teachers
can make the Bible appear to say just about anything. Even the best of us are subject to being deceived concerning
the interpretation and application of Scripture.
It takes a certain amount of Biblical knowledge to be ordained, but ordained pastors would be well advised that
their calling is to continually STUDY as well as to teach the Word of God. No one, believer or pastor, can be
used of God to bring another soul past the degree that one has first obtained himself. The devil can use both
believers and pastors to drag down one to another's level or impede the forward progress of others!
Of course mature believers should not be tossed back and forth with every wind of doctrine that comes
along, but at the same time there will never come a time here on Earth when there aren't some areas of
doctrine that needs to be corrected, refined, or better communicated.
Pastors and teachers are no exception. In fact, they are held to a higher level of accountability
(James 3:1/Luke 12: 48).
The devil is well-pleased when he hears people saying such things as they will believe in God or will
live for God after God provides them with answers to certain issues that are plaguing them. The devil
knows that Man, prior to salvation and/or when out of fellowship after salvation, is not only incapable
(1Cor.2: 14) of understanding the things of God, but is inherently hostile (Romans 8:7) towards God and
the things of God.
I studied for twelve years under the teaching ministries of the Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries and
Grace Bible Church in Somerset, MA. After successfully completing the ordination process, I was ordained
at the New England Bible Conference in August of 2008, sponsored by the Grace Bible Church. I will be
literally greatful to the education I received in the process, but have discovered that spiritual edification
is still a life long process and doctrines needs to be reviewed and edified as time progresses.
God the Holy Spirit, Who places each believer where He desires him or her to be, led me to
establish his "pulpit" on the Internet.
Here at the Biblical Answers To Man's Questions site, I publishe teachings on the elementary doctrines of
the faith. (The end-time portion of these doctrines are presently being revised and will be available in the
near future).
Pastor teachers are charged with the responsibilityof providing the necessary information required
for a born again belliever to receive in order for him/her to comprehend the permanancy of his/her
salvation and the identification and execution of the true post(after) salvationspiritual life.
Right from the very beginning of the Church Age, Satan sucessfully infiltrated (2Cor. 11: 14, 15) the
Christian Comunity and continues to spread many false doctrines. The amount of false doctrines
and practices will be on the increase (1Timothy 4:1) as the Church Age comes to its end.
My "no nonsense" style of teaching cuts right to the bone of the issues he addresses. As a result, there
will be times that the lessons taught will be one of comfort and encouragement, while at othertimes,
they will be painfully challenging. There isn't a pastor worth his salt that doesn't face the
(Galaians 4: 16) scenario from time to time.
What other perople think has never held a high position on my list of concerns. I would rather have you
hate mein time rather than have it said of me that I neglected to provide anyone with the spiritual information
that needed to said. What recipients choose to do or not to do with the information that omes from this pulpit
is not an issue between Pastor Doug and the recipient, but are issues that each one of us must face when will
give a personal accounting to the Lord (Romans 14:12).
At the same time, pastor-teachers must NEVER take the position that they or those who trained and ordained them
are not above error. Pastors and teachers must be willing to make the appropiate changes when God the Holy
Spirit brings such errors to his attention. This was the great error of those who were involved in Roman Catholicism
from the 3rd Century to the time of the Protestant attempt to bring the Church back to its Scriptural roots and
purpose.
This continues to be the great error within the Roman Catholic sector and within virtually ALL of the Protestant
sectors that, often with the best of intentions, formulate false doctrines and practices . God the Holy Spirit, in His
timing and means, exposes as false (Proverbs 30: 6). Unwittingly being in error is humanly inevitable, but refusing
to conduct personal and ministerial examinations (2Cor. 3: 15) and/or refusing to make the neccesary adjustments is inexcusable. This is especially true of those God calls to be pastor teachers, as their neglect not only impacts their
own post salvation spiritual life, but those who look to them for spiritual guidance.
The Biblical Answers To Man's Questions ministry does NOT solicit nor receive any financial contributions,
but sincerely appreciates any prayer support that fellow believers may desire to offer.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Doug Laird
trumpet450@yahoo.com
Christian, Internet, ministry. It's MISSION is to promote the proclamation
of the true Gospel Message for SALVATION, and the teaching of accurate
Bible Doctrine for the development of discipleship. This was primary the
mission and marching orders (Matthew 28: 19. 20) given to the Church by
our Lord just before His ascension and after announcing His promised return.
Salvation is the result of a ONE time decision to BELIEVE in the Person (Who HE is) and the Works of
the Lord Jesus Christ. No one can ever be any more or less saved than what he/she became at the moment of salvation, no matter what else takes place or fails to take place throughout one's post (after) salvation spiritual life.
Discipleship, however, is a horse of a different color. Discipleship is an ongoing and never ending process in which one learns, refines, and applies Bible Doctrine to the details of his/her personal life.
The quantity and the quality of the doctrine we have determines our usefulness in the hands of either God or the devil. through Discipleship starts with one self and later is designed to edify others through communicating it and/or by supporting those who do. No believer can edify anyone else beyond the level of spiritual growth that he has first obtained and maintained for him/herself. The day one stops progressing, is the same day that one starts regressing in the life that God has called every believer to for His glory.
Let me confirm up front something that you may have already discovered, and that is that God, in His wisdom, and by divine design in order to generate faith, has chosen to withhold some of the details of the answers to certain questions that one may want to have the answers to while here on Earth.
Such details are referred to as the Deut. 29: 29 "secret things" of God. At the same time, everything that
Man needs (not wants) to know, in order to he saved and to execute the true post salvation spiritual life has
been made available in Scripture. Most Christians have too many "other" things to do that consumes the
time required toenter into or to main in post salvation discipleship.
The ONE and ONLY quick and complete answer to a spiritual issue pertains to salvation. The Gospel Message
is encapsulated in such passages as John 3: 16, 18. At the moment of salvation, God the Holy Spirit makes a
presentation of the TRUE Gospel Messge understandable to the recipient, providing him/her with the
opportunity to be born again (John 3:3) and receive such things as a regenerated (Titus 3:5) human spirit.
A knowledge of more specific details will set the born again believer free (John 8:32) from ANY doubt concerning the
integrity of his/her salvation. Failure to learn of these more specific details will not diminish one's salvation, but
will enable the devil to generate fear, doubts, and insecurity that will impede one's post salvation spiritual growth.
Other than salvation, the accuracy of ALL other answers to spiritual questions involve a never-ending, post
salvation, life of discipleship. Discipleship reiterates and refines infomation previously obtained, expels
information that later is found to be either false or inadewaute, as well as taking in new information that has
been waiting for us to discover. This information is not NEW to God, but has been there all along in His Word.
Just because "an" answer, based on (#1) an isagogic (historical) background, (#2) an exegetical examination
of the languages, and (#3) a conformation based on comparing Scripture with Scripture, means that one has arrived
at "the" Biblical Answer to the question(s) at hand. The more extensive a research is conducted, based on isagogics,
comparison, and exegesis, the more accurate a "Biblically-based" answer will be.
In the process, what initially appeared to have been a Biblically-based answer is dinmissed as a more accurate
answer is uncovered. Most false doctrines (but not all) are offered with the best of intentions. The only way one
can be assured that the doctrine(s) that he/she currently entertains is correct is to continue in the Word (John 8:32)
and have the humility and courage it takes to be corrected and advance along the path to spiritual maturity.
The day one decides that he/she has already learned all that he/she can or wants to learn, is the day that he/she
will go no further in the plan of God. It is also the day the devil will go work trying to raise doubts and fears as to
the truth and integrity of what one has already received.
False doctrine and religous alternatives, designed by Man and promoted by the devil,can appear to have come
from God. Our fallen nature is, bu nature, not only receptive to such lies, but is hostile (Romans 8:7) to the truth.
does not mean that it is the correct answer to whatever issuewe desire to have answered. Trust me, false teachers
can make the Bible appear to say just about anything. Even the best of us are subject to being deceived concerning
the interpretation and application of Scripture.
It takes a certain amount of Biblical knowledge to be ordained, but ordained pastors would be well advised that
their calling is to continually STUDY as well as to teach the Word of God. No one, believer or pastor, can be
used of God to bring another soul past the degree that one has first obtained himself. The devil can use both
believers and pastors to drag down one to another's level or impede the forward progress of others!
Of course mature believers should not be tossed back and forth with every wind of doctrine that comes
along, but at the same time there will never come a time here on Earth when there aren't some areas of
doctrine that needs to be corrected, refined, or better communicated.
Pastors and teachers are no exception. In fact, they are held to a higher level of accountability
(James 3:1/Luke 12: 48).
The devil is well-pleased when he hears people saying such things as they will believe in God or will
live for God after God provides them with answers to certain issues that are plaguing them. The devil
knows that Man, prior to salvation and/or when out of fellowship after salvation, is not only incapable
(1Cor.2: 14) of understanding the things of God, but is inherently hostile (Romans 8:7) towards God and
the things of God.
I studied for twelve years under the teaching ministries of the Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries and
Grace Bible Church in Somerset, MA. After successfully completing the ordination process, I was ordained
at the New England Bible Conference in August of 2008, sponsored by the Grace Bible Church. I will be
literally greatful to the education I received in the process, but have discovered that spiritual edification
is still a life long process and doctrines needs to be reviewed and edified as time progresses.
God the Holy Spirit, Who places each believer where He desires him or her to be, led me to
establish his "pulpit" on the Internet.
Here at the Biblical Answers To Man's Questions site, I publishe teachings on the elementary doctrines of
the faith. (The end-time portion of these doctrines are presently being revised and will be available in the
near future).
Pastor teachers are charged with the responsibilityof providing the necessary information required
for a born again belliever to receive in order for him/her to comprehend the permanancy of his/her
salvation and the identification and execution of the true post(after) salvationspiritual life.
Right from the very beginning of the Church Age, Satan sucessfully infiltrated (2Cor. 11: 14, 15) the
Christian Comunity and continues to spread many false doctrines. The amount of false doctrines
and practices will be on the increase (1Timothy 4:1) as the Church Age comes to its end.
My "no nonsense" style of teaching cuts right to the bone of the issues he addresses. As a result, there
will be times that the lessons taught will be one of comfort and encouragement, while at othertimes,
they will be painfully challenging. There isn't a pastor worth his salt that doesn't face the
(Galaians 4: 16) scenario from time to time.
What other perople think has never held a high position on my list of concerns. I would rather have you
hate mein time rather than have it said of me that I neglected to provide anyone with the spiritual information
that needed to said. What recipients choose to do or not to do with the information that omes from this pulpit
is not an issue between Pastor Doug and the recipient, but are issues that each one of us must face when will
give a personal accounting to the Lord (Romans 14:12).
At the same time, pastor-teachers must NEVER take the position that they or those who trained and ordained them
are not above error. Pastors and teachers must be willing to make the appropiate changes when God the Holy
Spirit brings such errors to his attention. This was the great error of those who were involved in Roman Catholicism
from the 3rd Century to the time of the Protestant attempt to bring the Church back to its Scriptural roots and
purpose.
This continues to be the great error within the Roman Catholic sector and within virtually ALL of the Protestant
sectors that, often with the best of intentions, formulate false doctrines and practices . God the Holy Spirit, in His
timing and means, exposes as false (Proverbs 30: 6). Unwittingly being in error is humanly inevitable, but refusing
to conduct personal and ministerial examinations (2Cor. 3: 15) and/or refusing to make the neccesary adjustments is inexcusable. This is especially true of those God calls to be pastor teachers, as their neglect not only impacts their
own post salvation spiritual life, but those who look to them for spiritual guidance.
The Biblical Answers To Man's Questions ministry does NOT solicit nor receive any financial contributions,
but sincerely appreciates any prayer support that fellow believers may desire to offer.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Doug Laird
trumpet450@yahoo.com
